Methods and apparatus to generate reference signatures

ABSTRACT

Example apparatus disclosed herein include a signature collector to collect a first signature for media being presented to a plurality of households, a media creditor to credit the media when the first signature matches a reference signature in a reference signature database. The example apparatus also includes a signature thresholder to, when the first signature does not match the reference signature in the reference signature database, determine if the first signature matches an unknown signature in an unknown signature database; increase a count associated with the unknown signature when the first signature matches the unknown signature; and determine when a second signature matches the first signature, the second signature including metadata identifying the media. The example apparatus also includes a signature handler to store a reference signature for the first signature by associating the metadata identifying the media with the first signature when the count of the first signature satisfies a threshold, the reference signature to be stored in the reference signature database.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media monitoring, and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus to generate reference signatures.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, over-the-top (OTT) media (e.g., Youtube® videos,Netflix® streaming, etc.) has become an increasingly popular source toreceive media. OTT media is streaming media delivered over the Internetwithout a multiple-system operator being involved in the control and/ordistribution of the media. As such, it is desirable to monitor the OTTmedia that is being consumed by individuals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example environment constructedin accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the examplesignature generator of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an example flowchart representative of machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement the meter of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4-8 are example flowcharts representative of machine readableinstructions which may be executed to implement the signature generatorof FIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example processing platform structuredto execute the instructions of FIGS. 3-8 to implement the example metersof FIG. 1 and/or the example signature generator of FIGS. 1-2.

The figures are not to scale. In general, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Audio watermarking is a technique used to identify media such astelevision broadcasts, radio broadcasts, advertisements (televisionand/or radio), downloaded media, streaming media, prepackaged media,etc. Existing audio watermarking techniques identify media by embeddingone or more audio codes (e.g., one or more watermarks), such as mediaidentifying information and/or an identifier that may be mapped to mediaidentifying information, into an audio and/or video component. In someexamples, the audio or video component is selected to have a signalcharacteristic sufficient to hide the watermark. As used herein, theterms “code” or “watermark” are used interchangeably and are defined tomean any identification information (e.g., an identifier) that may beinserted or embedded in the audio or video of media (e.g., a program oradvertisement) for the purpose of identifying the media or for anotherpurpose such as tuning (e.g., a packet identifying header). To identifywatermarked media, the watermark(s) are extracted and used to access atable of reference watermarks that are mapped to media identifyinginformation.

Unlike media monitoring techniques based on codes and/or watermarksincluded with and/or embedded in the monitored media, fingerprint orsignature-based media monitoring techniques generally use one or moreinherent characteristics of the monitored media during a monitoring timeinterval to generate a substantially unique proxy for the media. Such aproxy is referred to as a signature or fingerprint, and can take anyform (e.g., a series of digital values, a waveform, etc.) representativeof any aspect(s) of the media signal(s)(e.g., the audio and/or videosignals forming the media presentation being monitored). A signature maybe a series of signatures collected in series over a timer interval. Agood signature is repeatable when processing the same mediapresentation, but is unique relative to other (e.g., different)presentations of other (e.g., different) media. Accordingly, the term“fingerprint” and “signature” are used interchangeably herein and aredefined herein to mean a proxy for identifying media that is generatedfrom one or more inherent characteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlationvalue, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that with matched the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature,these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known andwere first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Examples disclosed herein are directed to generating referencesignatures. For example, methods and apparatus disclosed herein may beused to collect preliminary signatures of media and then selectivelyapprove the preliminary signatures for addition to a reference libraryfor media that occurred more than a threshold amount. For example,popular sites like Hulu®, Netflix®, Amazon®, etc. may not provide mediato an audience measurement entity prior to releasing the media forviewing. As such, the audience measurement entity is unable to generatereference signatures that can be matched with signatures collected by ameter located on/near a media device. Thus, when that media is viewed bya user on the media device, the audience measurement entity meter or anassociated collection facility is unable to identify what media the useris watching because reference signatures have not been generated yet. Inthis scenario, later, when reference signatures are generated (e.g., 1week later) the audience measurement entity has to re-process this datato determine the identity of the media. This is not desirable becausethe audience measurement entity may not be able to credit users asviewing that media for a number of days and re-processing is a timeconsuming costly process.

Examples disclosed herein provide improved apparatus and methods thatgenerate signatures that are to be stored within a reference databasefor subsequent use in media monitoring conducted by the audiencemeasurement entity. Examples disclosed herein collect preliminarysignatures of media that is unknown (e.g., does not have a referencesignature) and approves a preliminary signature for addition to areference signature library when the preliminary signature is associatedwith identifying information and was received more than a thresholdnumber of times (e.g., the preliminary signature was captured by 20households). For example, a media source may stream a 40 min episode ofa show that does not currently have a reference signature. The audiencemeasurement entity may collect preliminary signatures for that episodefrom various households (HH), but is unable to identify the episode. Assuch, the audience measurement entity may store the preliminarysignatures in a preliminary signature database to later be approved tobe stored in a reference signature database, when the episode isidentifiable (e.g., a database of unidentified signatures).

As used herein, “media” may include advertising and/or content. Exampletypes of media include web pages, text, images, streaming video,streaming audio, movies, and/or any other type of content and/oradvertisements. In some examples, media includes user-generated mediathat is, for example, uploaded to media upload sites such as Youtube®and subsequently downloaded and/or streamed by one or more clientdevices for playback. Media may also include advertisements.Advertisements are typically distributed with content (e.g.,programming). Traditionally, content is provided at little or no cost tothe audience because it is subsidized by advertisers that pay to havetheir advertisements distributed with the content. As used herein,“media” refers collectively and/or individually to content and/oradvertisement(s) of any type(s).

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an example environment 100constructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure togenerate reference signatures. The illustrated example includes anexample central facility 102 to receive media monitoring information(e.g., signatures, uniform resource locators (URLs), media titles, etc.)from example meters 104, 106 regarding media (e.g., advertisements,over-the-top (OTT) media, etc.) presented by one or more media devices107 a-b. The example central facility 102 is communicatively coupled tothe example meters 104, 106 via an example network 108. In someexamples, the meters 104, 106 are on-site meters that collect and/orgenerate signatures of detected audio from the media being consumed bythe media devices 107 a-b. In such an example, the signatures collectedand/or generated by the meters 104, 106 are transmitted to the centralfacility 102 via a network 108 for processing. In other examples, themeters 104, 106 are personal portable meters (PPM) that generatesignatures of detected audio and/or video. In some examples, the meter104 is a first type of meter (e.g., a global television audience meter(GTAM)), and the meter 106 is a second type of meter (e.g., a Netsitemeter). In some examples, the meter 106 (e.g., a Netsite meter) iscapable of producing media monitoring information that includes metadata(e.g., media identifying information).

The illustrated example environment 100 further includes a media source110 that transmits media (e.g., OTT media, television programs, etc.) tomedia presentation devices. For example, the media source 110 can be anOTT provider (e.g., Hulu®, Netflix®, etc.), a television broadcastnetwork (e.g., NBC, CBS, etc.), and/or other providers of media over theexample network 108. In some examples, media transmitted by the examplemedia source 110 is detected by the example meters 104, 106. Althoughthe illustrated example of FIG. 1 includes a single example media source110, some other examples include multiple media sources communicativelycoupled to the example central facility 102 and/or provided to the mediapresentation devices via the example network 108.

The media provided by the example media source 110 is additionallytransmitted to the example central facility 102. The central facility102 receives the media at an example media source interface 112. In theillustrated example, the example central facility 102 includes anexample signature generator 116, which generates reference signaturesfor the media received at the example audience measurement interface114. The example signature generator 116 stores the generated signaturesin an example reference database 118. In some examples, the signaturegenerator 116 stores other information associated with the media element(e.g., a title of the media content, an identifier associated with themedia content, etc.) with the generated signature. The signatures in theexample reference database 118 can be used to match signatures receivedat the audience measurement interface 114 from the example meters 104,106. When a signature received from one of the example meters 104, 106matches a signature stored in the example reference database 118, themedia associated with the signature is credited as being viewed. Forexample, the meter 106 collects and/or generates a signature for a pieceof media (e.g., a Youtube® video, an episode streaming through Netflix®,etc.), and transmits the collected and/or generated signature to thecentral facility 102 via the network 108. In such an example, thesignature generator 116 compares the collected and/or generatedsignature to one or more signatures stored in the reference database118, and, when a signature stored in the reference database 118 matchesthe collected and/or generated signatures, credits the media in thereference database 118.

The example signature generator 116 thus determines preliminarysignatures for the OTT media provided by the example media source 110.As used herein, the term “preliminary signature” refers to a signaturecollected and/or generated for a portion of media. In some examples,preliminary signatures are signatures generated for thirty minutes ofthe media. In some other examples, the signatures are generated forlonger or shorter portions of the media. In some examples, thepreliminary signatures are generated from multiple portions of the media(e.g., a portion at the beginning and a portion at the end of the media,etc.).

The preliminary signatures generated by the example signature generator116 are stored in an example preliminary signature database 120. In someexamples, the preliminary signatures stored in the example preliminarysignature database 120 are associated with the media from which theywere generated. The example preliminary signature database 120 furtherincludes other information associated with the media (e.g., a title ofthe media, ID associated with the media, etc.).

The example signature generator 116 can also determine unknownsignatures for the OTT media provided by the example media source 110.As used herein, the term “unknown signature” refers to a signaturecollected and/or generated for a portion of media that does not includemedia identifying information (e.g., a title of the media, ID associatedwith the media, etc.). In some examples, unknown signatures aresignatures generated for thirty minutes of the media. In some otherexamples, the signatures are generated for longer or shorter portions ofthe media. In some examples, the unknown signatures are generated frommultiple portions of the media (e.g., a portion at the beginning and aportion at the end of the media, etc.).

The unknown signatures generated by the example signature generator 116are stored in an example unknown signature database 122. In someexamples, the unknown signatures stored in the example unknown signaturedatabase 122 are associated with the media from which they weregenerated. The example unknown signature database 122 does not includeother information associated with the media (e.g., a title of the media,ID associated with the media, etc.).

When either of the example meters 104, 106 collect and/or generate asignature and transmit the signature to the example central facility102, the signature generator 116 compares the signature to the referencesignatures stored in the reference database 118, the preliminarysignatures stored in the example preliminary signature database 120and/or the unknown signatures stored in the example unknown signaturedatabase 122. In some examples, when the signature is an unknownsignature, the signature generator 116 may first compare the signatureto the reference signatures in the reference database 118 and then tothe unknown signatures in the unknown signature database 122. As such,processing cycles are decreased because the unknown signatures do nothave to be compared to any preliminary signatures in the preliminarysignature database 120. If a match is detected, the example signaturegenerator 116 increases and/or adds a count with the media of thepreliminary signature or the unknown signature. As used herein, the term“count” refers to a match between a signature collected and/or generatedby a metering device (e.g., the meters 104, 106) and a preliminarysignature stored in the example preliminary signature database 120and/or an unknown signature stored in the example unknown signaturedatabase 122. For example, a count may correspond to a panelist viewingmedia on a monitored device. Thus, the more counts that are associatedwith a media element, the more it has been viewed.

In some examples, the example reference database 118 stores monitoringinformation used to generate reports. For example, the referencedatabase 118 stores media and an associated number of counts indicativeof crediting the media and/or other monitoring information (e.g.,demographic information associated with the counts of the media,characteristics associated with panelists, etc.). In some examples, areport is generated based on the media and/or information stored in thereference database 118 and subsequently provided to a media source(e.g., the example media source 110) and/or another interested party. Inother examples, another database can be utilized to store theinformation for generating reports.

While an example manner of implementing the meters 104, 106 of FIG. 1 isillustrated in FIG. 1, one or more of the elements, processes and/ordevices illustrated in FIG. 1 may be combined, divided, re-arranged,omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, theexample meters 104, 106 of FIG. 1 may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware. Thus, for example, any of the example meters 104, 106 of FIG.1 could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s),logic circuits, programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s),graphics processing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s)(DSP(s)), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)),programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logicdevice(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claimsof this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmwareimplementation, at least one of the example meters 104, 106 of FIG. 1is/are hereby expressly defined to include a non-transitory computerreadable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc.including the software and/or firmware. Further still, the examplemeters 104, 106 of FIG. 1 may include one or more elements, processesand/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated in FIG.1, and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustratedelements, processes and devices. As used herein, the phrase “incommunication,” including variations thereof, encompasses directcommunication and/or indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components, and does not require direct physical (e.g.,wired) communication and/or constant communication, but ratheradditionally includes selective communication at periodic intervals,scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-time events.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example implementation of the examplesignature generator 116 of FIG. 1. The example signature generator 116includes an example communications interface 202, an example signaturecollector 204, an example signature thresholder 206, an examplesignature handler 208, an example media creditor 210, and an examplereport generator 212.

In the illustrated example, the communications interface 202 receivesgenerated and/or collected signatures from the example meters 104, 106via the example media source interface 112. For example, the meters 104,106 of FIG. 1 are communicatively coupled to the media source interface112 via the network 108 of FIG. 1. The signatures generated and/orcollected by the meters 104, 106 of FIG. 1 are thus delivered to thesignature generator 116 for processing at the example central facility102 via the communications interface 202. The example communicationsinterface 202 is utilized to communicate with the example media sourceinterface 112, the example audience measurement interface 114, theexample reference database 118, the example preliminary signaturedatabase 120, and/or the example unknown signature database 122. In someexamples, the signature generator 116 may be in direct communicationwith the meters 104, 106 via the network 108 and collect the signaturesfrom the example meters 104, 106 via the communications interface 202without communicating with the media source interface 112.

In the illustrated example, the signature collector 204 collects thesignatures from the meters 104, 106 for which reference signatures areto be generated. The example signature collector 204 determines whichsignatures accessed via the communications interface 202 are to be addedto the preliminary signature database 120 and/or the unknown signaturedatabase 122 of FIG. 1. For example, the signature collector 204determines that a signature is to be added to either the preliminarysignature database 120 or the unknown signature database 122 based on atype of the signature. For example, the example signature collector 204signature collector 204 may collect a first type of signature (e.g., asignature that does not include metadata) from the meter 104 (e.g., aGTAM) and a second type of signature (e.g., a signature that doesinclude metadata) from the meter 106 (e.g., a Netsite meter). As such,the signature collector 204 may determine that the first type ofsignature (e.g., does not include metadata) is to be subsequentlycompared to the reference signatures in the reference database 118 andthe unknown signatures in the unknown signature database 122 by thesignature thresholder 206. In some examples, the signature collector 204may generate signatures for media from the media source 110 (e.g., awebsite that hosts OTT media (e.g., Youtube®, Hulu®, etc.)). Forexample, the signature collector 204 may generate a signature for mediafrom the media source 110 that is to be processed by the signaturegenerator 116.

The example signature thresholder 206 determines whether the signaturesfrom the signature collector 204, match any signatures in the referencedatabase 118, the preliminary signature database 120 and/or the unknownsignature database 122. In some examples, when the signature collector204 identifies a signature as the first type of signature, the signaturethresholder 206 compares the signature to the reference signatures inthe reference database 118 and the unknown signatures in the unknownsignature database 122.

The example signature thresholder 206 queries the example referencedatabase 118 to determine if a signature matches a reference signaturestored in the reference database 118. If the example signaturethresholder 206 determines a match between a received signature and asignature stored within the reference database 118, the signaturethresholder 206 sends the determination (e.g., an indication that asignature matches a reference signature) to the example media creditor210 to credit the media associated with the signature stored in thereference database 118. If the example signature thresholder 206determines the signature of the received media does not match any of thesignatures stored in the example reference database 118, the examplesignature thresholder 206 queries the preliminary signature database120.

When the example signature thresholder 206 determines that the receivedsignature matches a signature in the example preliminary signaturedatabase 120, the example signature thresholder 206 increases a countassociated with the media stored in the preliminary signature database120 (e.g., by associating the count with a media title, ID, URL, etc.).The example signature thresholder 206 continues to add to the number ofcounts associated with the media as more signatures are received thatmatch preliminary signatures within the preliminary signature database120. In some examples, when the received signature includes metadata(e.g., media identifying information) and does not match a referencesignature in the reference database 118 or a preliminary signature inthe preliminary signature database 120, the example signaturethresholder 206 sends the signature to the signature handler 208. Thesignature handler 208 stores a preliminary signature (e.g., associatesthe signature with the metadata) which is subsequently stored in thepreliminary signature database 120 for further processing.

When a match is not detected by the example signature thresholder 206 ineither the reference database 118 or the preliminary signature database120, and the signature does not include metadata, the example signaturethresholder 206 queries the unknown signature database 122 to determineif the received signature matches an unknown signature stored in theunknown signature database 122. When the example signature thresholder206 determines that the received signature matches a signature in theexample unknown signature database 122, the example signaturethresholder 206 increases a count associated with the unknown signaturestored in the unknown signature database 122. The example signaturethresholder 206 continues to add to the number of counts associated withthe unknown signature as more signatures are received that match unknownsignatures within the unknown signature database 122.

When a match is not detected by the example signature thresholder 206 ineither the reference database 118, the preliminary signature database120 and/or the example unknown signature database 122, the examplesignature thresholder 206 sends the signature to the signature handler208. The signature handler 208 stores an unknown signature with anidentifier (e.g., Unknown1234) which is subsequently stored in theunknown signature database 122 for further processing. In some examples,the unknown signature is stored for a particular percentage of the media(e.g., 75% of the media, etc.) because the viewer may have only viewed75% of the media. As such, the signature thresholder 206 may receivesignatures that include more than a particular percentage of the media(e.g., 92% of the media) following the storage of the unknown signature.Thus, the example signature thresholder 206 may increase a countassociated with the unknown signature and the signature handler 208 canexpand the unknown signature to include the updated portions of thesignature to increase the effectiveness of identifying a signaturematch.

In the illustrated example, the example signature thresholder 206selects a preliminary signature from the example preliminary signaturedatabase 120 to be analyzed. The process of selecting preliminarysignatures in the preliminary signature database 120 to be analyzed canoccur before, during, and after the generation of preliminary signature.That is, the preliminary signature may be analyzed prior to generatingthe preliminary signature to reduce memory requirements and reduceprocessing cycles. For example, the example signature thresholder 206compares the counts associated with the selected preliminary signaturestored in the preliminary signature database 120 to a count threshold(e.g., 20, 30, 40, 110, etc.) to determine if a reference signature isto be generated for the preliminary signature. In some examples, thethreshold is determined as a required count number. In some suchexamples, the required count may be determined by a user oradministrator. If the count meets the threshold, the signature handler208 generates a reference signature for the preliminary signature, andthe media creditor 210 credits the media as being viewed an amountassociated with the count.

If the example signature thresholder 206 determines that the countassociated with the preliminary signature does not meet the threshold,the example signature thresholder 206 can query the unknown signaturedatabase 122 to determine if the preliminary signature matches anunknown signature in the unknown signature database 122. If a match isfound, the example signature thresholder 206 can increase the countassociated with the preliminary signature by the count associated withthe unknown signature. The example signature thresholder 206 thendetermines whether the number of counts associated with the selectedpreliminary signature meets a threshold. If the total count of thecombination of the preliminary signature and the unknown signaturesatisfies the threshold, the signature thresholder 206 associates thepreliminary signature with the unknown signature. The example signaturehandler 208 subsequently removes the preliminary signature from thepreliminary signature database 120, and removes the unknown signaturefrom the unknown signature database 122. The example signature handler208 stores a reference signature for the preliminary signature and theunknown signature by associating the signature with the metadata fromthe preliminary signature. The signature handler 208 stores thereference signature in the reference database 118, and sends anindication to the media creditor 210.

The example media creditor 210 receives indications from the signaturethresholder 206 regarding whether a count has been increased for areference signature and/or whether a signature has been stored as areference signature in the reference database 118. When the examplesignature handler 208 stores a reference signature in the referencedatabase (e.g., the signature handler 208 determines a combination ofpreliminary signatures and unknown signatures meets a threshold), theexample media creditor 210 determines the media from the referencesignature and credits the media as being viewed an amount associatedwith the total count between the preliminary signature and the unknownsignature when a reference signature is stored in the reference database118. As such, the unknown signatures do not need to be re-processed onceidentifying information (e.g., metadata) is received. The crediting isrecorded and associated with the media stored in the reference database118 in addition to other information associated with the media (e.g., atitle of the media, a URL of the media, a unique ID associated with themedia, etc.). The media creditor 210 of the illustrated examplecontinues to add to the number of credits each time a new match isdetected. Alternatively, the example media creditor 210 may keep trackof individual views of a signature and credit the views once thesignature is known (e.g., has a reference signature).

The example report generator 212 generates a report identifying themedia and the crediting information (e.g., count associated withsignature) determined during processing. The example report generator212 may also receive other monitoring information (e.g., demographicinformation associated with the media, characteristics associated withpanelist, etc.) from the audience measurement interface 114. The reportgenerated by the report generator 212 may subsequently be provided to amedia source (e.g., the media source 110) and/or another interestedparty. In some examples, the report generator 212 may display the reporton a device via a webpage in a first state with a set of options. Theexample set of options may be selectable by a user to change the stateof the display to view different types of information in the report.

While an example manner of implementing the signature generator 116 ofFIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2, one or more of the elements, processesand/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided,re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way.Further, the example communications interface 202, the example signaturecollector 204, the example signature thresholder 206, the examplesignature handler 208, the example media creditor 210, the examplereport generator 212 and/or, more generally, the example signaturegenerator 116 of FIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware, software,firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.Thus, for example, any of the example the example communicationsinterface 202, the example signature collector 204, the examplesignature thresholder 206, the example signature handler 208, theexample media creditor 210, the example report generator 212 and/or,more generally, the example signature generator 116 of FIG. 2 could beimplemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits,programmable processor(s), programmable controller(s), graphicsprocessing unit(s) (GPU(s)), digital signal processor(s) (DSP(s)),application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logicdevice(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)).When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent tocover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one ofthe example, the example communications interface 202, the examplesignature collector 204, the example signature thresholder 206, theexample signature handler 208, the example media creditor 210, theexample report generator 212 and/or, more generally, the examplesignature generator 116 of FIG. 2 is/are hereby expressly defined toinclude a non-transitory computer readable storage device or storagedisk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk(CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. including the software and/or firmware.Further still, the example signature generator 116 of FIG. 2 may includeone or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, orinstead of, those illustrated in FIG. 2, and/or may include more thanone of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices. Asused herein, the phrase “in communication,” including variationsthereof, encompasses direct communication and/or indirect communicationthrough one or more intermediary components, and does not require directphysical (e.g., wired) communication and/or constant communication, butrather additionally includes selective communication at periodicintervals, scheduled intervals, aperiodic intervals, and/or one-timeevents.

A flowchart representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the example meters 104, 106 of FIG.1 is shown in FIG. 3. The machine readable instructions may be anexecutable program or portion of an executable program for execution bya computer processor such as the processor 912 shown in the exampleprocessor platform 900 discussed below in connection with FIG. 9. Theprogram may be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, aDVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 912, butthe entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executedby a device other than the processor 912 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example program is describedwith reference to the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 3, many othermethods of implementing the example meters 104, 106 of FIG. 1 mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all ofthe blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g.,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit,etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIG. 3 may be implementedusing executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machinereadable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-onlymemory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example meters 104, 106 ofFIG. 1. The example program 300 of FIG. 3 begins at block 302 where themeter 104, 106 detects media being presented. For example, the mediasource 110 may be presenting media to a presentation device that eitherone of the meters 104, 106 is associated with. At block 304, the meter104, 106 accesses the media being presented. At block 306, the meter104, 106 collects a signature for the media. For example, the meter 104,106 may utilize any known algorithm or process for collecting and/orgenerating a signature for the media. At block 308, the meter determinesif metadata is available. If the meter 104, 106 determines that nometadata is available, the meter 104, 106 transmits the collectedsignature for the media to the central facility 102 (block 310). Forexample, the meter 104, 106 may transmit the signature to the centralfacility 102 via the audience measurement interface 114 and/or thesignature generator 116. If the meter 104, 106 determines that metadatais available, the meter 104, 106 transmits the signature with themetadata (block 312). At block 314, the meter 104, 106 determines ifmedia is being presented. If the meter 104, 106 determines media isbeing presented, the program 300 returns to block 302. If the meter 104,106 determines media is not being presented, the program 300 ends.

Flowcharts representative of example hardware logic, machine readableinstructions, hardware implemented state machines, and/or anycombination thereof for implementing the signature generator 116 areshown in FIGS. 4-8. The machine readable instructions may be anexecutable program or portion of an executable program for execution bya computer processor such as the processor 912 shown in the exampleprocessor platform 900 discussed below in connection with FIG. 9. Theprogram may be embodied in software stored on a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, aDVD, a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 912, butthe entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executedby a device other than the processor 912 and/or embodied in firmware ordedicated hardware. Further, although the example program is describedwith reference to the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 4-8, many othermethods of implementing the example signature generator 116 mayalternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocksmay be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed,eliminated, or combined. Additionally or alternatively, any or all ofthe blocks may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g.,discrete and/or integrated analog and/or digital circuitry, an FPGA, anASIC, a comparator, an operational-amplifier (op-amp), a logic circuit,etc.) structured to perform the corresponding operation withoutexecuting software or firmware.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 3-8 may beimplemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/ormachine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, aread-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example signature generator 116of FIGS. 1-2. The example program 400 begins when the example signaturecollector 204 receives a signature collected by a metering device (block402). For example, the signature collector 204 may receive a signaturethat was collected and/or generated by the meter 104, 106. At block 404,the signature thresholder 206 determines if the signature matches asignature in a reference database. For example, the signaturethresholder 206 determines if the signature matches a referencesignature in the reference database 118. If the signature thresholder206 determines that the signature matches a reference signature in thereference database 118, the media creditor 210 credits media associatedwith the reference signature. At block 408, the signature collector 204determines if more signature have been received from the meteringdevice. If more signature have been received, the program 400 returns toblock 402. If the signature collector 204 determines that no moresignatures have been received from the metering device, the program 400ends. However, if at block 404, the signature thresholder 206 determinesthat the signature does not match a reference signature in the referencedatabase 118, the signature thresholder 206 determines if the signaturewas transmitted with metadata (block 410). If the signature thresholder206 determines that the signature was transmitted with metadata, theprogram 400 proceeds to block A. If the signature thresholder 206determines that the signature was not transmitted with metadata, theprogram 400 proceeds to block B.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example signature generator 116of FIGS. 1-2. The example program 500 begins at block 502 where thesignature thresholder 206 determines if the signature matches apreliminary signature in a preliminary signature database. For example,the signature thresholder 206 determines if the signature matches apreliminary signature in the preliminary signature database 120. If thesignature thresholder 206 determines that the signatures matches apreliminary signature, the signature thresholder 206 increases a countassociated with the preliminary signature (block 604). The program 500then proceeds to block C. If the signature thresholder 206 determinesthat the signatures does not match a preliminary signature, thesignature handler 208 adds the preliminary signature to the preliminarysignature database 120 (block 506). In some examples, the signaturethresholder 206 can add the preliminary signature to the preliminarysignature database 120. The program 500 then proceeds to block C.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the signature generator 116 of FIGS.1-2. The example program 600 begins at block 602 where the signaturethresholder 206 determines if the signature matches an unknown signaturein an unknown signature database. For example, the signature thresholder206 determines if the signature matches an unknown signature in theunknown signature database 122. If the signature thresholder 206determines that the signature matches an unknown signature in theunknown signature database 122, the signature thresholder 206 increasesa count associated with the unknown signature (block 604). The program600 then proceeds to block C. If the signature thresholder 206determines that the signature does not match an unknown signature in theunknown signature database 122, the signature thresholder 206 generatesan identifier for the unknown signature (block 606). For example, thesignature thresholder 206 may generate the identifier “Unknown1234” forthe signature. The signature thresholder 206 adds the unknown signatureand the identifier to the unknown signature database 122 (block 608). Insome examples, the signature handler 208 may generate the identifier andadd the unknown signature to the unknown signature database 122. Theprogram 600 then proceeds to block C.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example signature generator 116of FIGS. 1-2. The example program 700 begins at block 702 where thesignature thresholder 206 determines a count associated with apreliminary signature. For example, the signature thresholder 206determines that count associated with how many times the preliminarysignature has matched with a received signature received from the meters104, 106. At block 704, the signature thresholder 206 determines if thecount associated with the preliminary signature meets a threshold. Forexample, the signature thresholder 206 determines if the count satisfiesa count threshold (e.g., 20, 30, 110, 200, etc.). If the signaturethresholder 206 determines that the count does not satisfy thethreshold, the program 700 proceeds to block D. If the signaturethresholder 206 determines that the count does meet the threshold, thesignature handler 208 stores a reference signature for the preliminarysignature (block 706). At block 708, the signature handler 208 adds thereference signature to the reference database 118. The signaturethresholder 206 then determines if there are more preliminary signatures(block 710). If the signature thresholder 206 determines there are morepreliminary signature, the program 700 returns to block 702. If thesignature thresholder 206 determines there are no more preliminarysignatures, the program 700 ends.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionswhich may be executed to implement the example signature generator 116of FIGS. 1-2. The example program 800 begins at block 802 where thesignature thresholder 206 determines if the preliminary signaturematches an unknown signature in the unknown signature database 122. Ifthe signature thresholder 206 determines that the preliminary signaturedoes not match an unknown signature in the unknown signature database122, the program 800 ends. If the signature thresholder 206 doesdetermine a match between the preliminary signature and an unknownsignature in the unknown signature database 122, the signaturethresholder 206 determines a count associated with the unknown signature(block 804). At block 806, the signature thresholder 206 adds the countof the unknown signature to the count associated with the preliminarysignature. For example, the signature thresholder 206 determines thecount associated with how many times the unknown signature and thepreliminary signature have received a match from a received signature.At block 808, the signature thresholder 206 determines if the countassociated with the preliminary signature and the unknown signaturemeets a threshold. For example, the signature thresholder 206 determinesif the count satisfies a count threshold (e.g., 20, 30, 110, 200, etc.).If the signature thresholder 206 determines that the count does notsatisfy the threshold, the program 800 ends. If the signaturethresholder 206 determines that the count does meet the threshold, thesignature handler 208 stores a reference signature for the preliminarysignature (block 810). At block 812, the signature handler 208 adds thereference signature to the reference database 118. The program 800 ends.

“Including” and “comprising” (and all forms and tenses thereof) are usedherein to be open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim employs any formof “include” or “comprise” (e.g., comprises, includes, comprising,including, having, etc.) as a preamble or within a claim recitation ofany kind, it is to be understood that additional elements, terms, etc.may be present without falling outside the scope of the correspondingclaim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is usedas the transition term in, for example, a preamble of a claim, it isopen-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” and “including”are open ended. The term “and/or” when used, for example, in a form suchas A, B, and/or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C such as(1) A alone, (2) B alone, (3) C alone, (4) A with B, (5) A with C, (6) Bwith C, and (7) A with B and with C. As used herein in the context ofdescribing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A and B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. Similarly, as used herein in the contextof describing structures, components, items, objects and/or things, thephrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer to implementationsincluding any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, and (3) atleast one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context ofdescribing the performance or execution of processes, instructions,actions, activities and/or steps, the phrase “at least one of A and B”is intended to refer to implementations including any of (1) at leastone A, (2) at least one B, and (3) at least one A and at least one B.Similarly, as used herein in the context of describing the performanceor execution of processes, instructions, actions, activities and/orsteps, the phrase “at least one of A or B” is intended to refer toimplementations including any of (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B,and (3) at least one A and at least one B.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 900structured to execute the instructions of FIGS. 4-8 to implement thesignature generator 116 of FIGS. 1-2. The processor platform 900 can be,for example, a server, a personal computer, a workstation, aself-learning machine (e.g., a neural network), a mobile device (e.g., acell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CDplayer, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, apersonal video recorder, a set top box, a headset or other wearabledevice, or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 900 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 912. The processor 912 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 912 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors, GPUs, DSPs, orcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer. The hardwareprocessor may be a semiconductor based (e.g., silicon based) device. Inthis example, the processor implements the example communicationsinterface 202, the example signature collector 204, the examplesignature thresholder 206, the example signature handler 208, theexample media creditor 210, the example report generator 212 and/or,more generally, the example signature generator 116 of FIG. 2

The processor 912 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 913(e.g., a cache). The processor 912 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 914 and anon-volatile memory 916 via a bus 918. The volatile memory 914 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® Dynamic Random Access Memory(RDRAM®) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory 916 may be implemented by flash memory and/or anyother desired type of memory device. Access to the main memory 914, 916is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 900 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 920. The interface circuit 920 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), a Bluetooth® interface, a near fieldcommunication (NFC) interface, and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 922 are connectedto the interface circuit 920. The input device(s) 922 permit(s) a userto enter data and/or commands into the processor 912. The input devicecan be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrackpad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 924 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 920 of the illustrated example. The output devices 924 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a cathode ray tube display (CRT), an in-place switching(IPS) display, a touchscreen, etc.), a tactile output device, a printerand/or speaker. The interface circuit 920 of the illustrated example,thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chipand/or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 920 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem, a residential gateway, a wireless access point, and/or a networkinterface to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g.,computing devices of any kind) via a network 926. The communication canbe via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line(DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, asatellite system, a line-of-site wireless system, a cellular telephonesystem, etc.

The processor platform 900 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 928 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 928 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, redundantarray of independent disks (RAID) systems, and digital versatile disk(DVD) drives.

The machine executable instructions 932 of FIGS. 4-8 may be stored inthe mass storage device 928, in the volatile memory 914, in thenon-volatile memory 916, and/or on a removable non-transitory computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that example methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed that improvethe operating efficiency of computing devices by generating referencesignatures based on preliminary and unknown signatures to avoidre-processing such signatures. Such disclosed examples increase thecomputational efficiency of monitoring media (e.g., by determiningnumbers of views based on preliminary signatures and unknown signaturesprior to receiving metadata) by reducing the amount of processing cyclesrequired to re-process unknown and preliminary signatures. In someexamples disclosed herein, reference signatures are only generated forcertain preliminary signatures that meet particular criteria, whichfurther reduces the storage requirements of an example central facility.Further, the disclosed methods increase the validating of data formaking a reference signature by using the unlabeled unknown signaturesas part of a validation count, which utilizes fewer resources. Thedisclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture are accordinglydirected to one or more improvement(s) in the functioning of a computer.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a signature collector tocollect a first signature for media being presented to a plurality ofhouseholds, the first signature corresponding to a first portion of themedia and a second portion of the media; a media creditor to credit themedia when the first signature matches a current reference signature ina reference signature database; a signature thresholder to: when thefirst signature does not match the current reference signature in thereference signature database, determine if the first signature matchesan unknown signature in an unknown signature database, the unknownsignature corresponding to a third portion of the media, the thirdportion of the media being the same as the second portion of the mediaand different than the first portion of the media; update the unknownsignature in the unknown signature database to include the first portionof the media; increase a count associated with the unknown signaturewhen the first signature matches the unknown signature; determine when asecond signature matches the first signature, the second signatureincluding metadata identifying the media, the second signature includinga fourth portion of the media, the fourth portion of the media differentthan the first, second and third portions of the media; and a signaturehandler to store a reference signature for the first signature byassociating the metadata identifying the media with the first signaturewhen the count of the first signature satisfies a threshold, thereference signature to be stored in the reference signature database,the reference signature to include the first, second, third, and fourthportions of the media.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstsignature is a first type of signature that does not include metadata.3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the signature collector receivesthe first signature from a first type of meter, and the second signaturefrom a second type of meter.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein thefirst type of meter is a global television audience meter (GTAM), thesecond type of meter is a Netsite meter.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the count threshold is greater than
 20. 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the count threshold represents a total count betweenpreliminary signatures in a preliminary signature database and unknownsignatures in the unknown signature database.
 7. The apparatus of claim1, further including the signature handler to store an unknown signaturefor the first signature when the first signature does not match anysignatures in the reference signature database, the unknown signaturedatabase, or a preliminary signature in a preliminary signaturedatabase.
 8. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprisinginstructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least: collect afirst signature for media being presented to a plurality of households,the first signature corresponding to a first portion of the media and asecond portion of the media; credit the media when the first signaturematches a current reference signature in a reference signature database;when the first signature does not match the current reference signaturein the reference signature database, determine if the first signaturematches an unknown signature in an unknown signature database, theunknown signature corresponding to a third portion of the media, thethird portion of the media being the same as the second portion of themedia and different than the first portion of the media; update theunknown signature in the unknown signature database to include the firstportion of the media; increase a count associated with the unknownsignature when the first signature matches the unknown signature;determine when a second signature matches the first signature, thesecond signature including metadata identifying the media, the secondsignature including a fourth portion of the media, the fourth portion ofthe media different than the first, second and third portions of themedia; and store a reference signature for the first signature byassociating the metadata identifying the media with the first signaturewhen the count of the first signature satisfies a threshold, thereference signature to be stored in the reference signature database,the reference signature to include the first, second, third, and fourthportions of the media.
 9. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the first signature is a first type of signature thatdoes not include metadata.
 10. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 9, wherein the first signature is received from a firsttype of meter, and the second signature from a second type of meter. 11.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10, wherein thefirst type of meter is a global television audience meter (GTAM), thesecond type of meter is a Netsite meter.
 12. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 8, wherein the count threshold is greater than20.
 13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, whereinthe count threshold represents a total count between preliminarysignatures in a preliminary signature database and unknown signatures inthe unknown signature database.
 14. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 8, wherein the instructions further cause the machine tostore an unknown signature for the first signature when the firstsignature does not match any signatures in the reference signaturedatabase, the unknown signature database, or a preliminary signature ina preliminary signature database.
 15. A method comprising: collecting,by executing an instruction with a processor, a first signature formedia being presented to a plurality of households, the first signaturecorresponding to a first portion of the media and a second portion ofthe media; crediting, by executing an instruction with the processor,the media when the first signature matches a current reference signaturein a reference signature database; when the first signature does notmatch the current reference signature in the reference signaturedatabase, determining, by executing an instruction with the processor,if the first signature matches an unknown signature in an unknownsignature database, the unknown signature corresponding to a thirdportion of the media, the third portion of the media being the same asthe second portion of the media and different than the first portion ofthe media; updating, by executing an instruction with the processor, theunknown signature in the unknown signature database to include the firstportion of the media; increasing, by executing an instruction with theprocessor, a count associated with the unknown signature when the firstsignature matches the unknown signature; determining, by executing aninstruction with the processor, when a second signature matches thefirst signature, the second signature including metadata identifying themedia, the second signature including a fourth portion of the media, thefourth portion of the media different than the first, second and thirdportions of the media; and storing, by executing an instruction with theprocessor, a reference signature for the first signature by associatingthe metadata identifying the media with the first signature when thecount of the first signature satisfies a threshold, the referencesignature to be stored in the reference signature database, thereference signature to include the first, second, third, and fourthportions of the media.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the firstsignature is a first type of signature that does not include metadata.17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first signature is received froma first type of meter, and the second signature from a second type ofmeter.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first type of meter is aglobal television audience meter (GTAM), the second type of meter is aNetsite meter.
 19. The method of claim 15, wherein the count thresholdrepresents a total count between preliminary signatures in a preliminarysignature database and unknown signatures in the unknown signaturedatabase.
 20. The method of claim 15, further including storing anunknown signature for the first signature when the first signature doesnot match any signatures in the reference signature database, theunknown signature database, or a preliminary signature in a preliminarysignature database.